Ukraine Battles Will Hit Home

The war in Ukraine is bound to hit American shores soon.  Not in the conventional way, but we will be fighting the effects here nonetheless.  Yes, that will mean higher fuel prices, more supply chain challenges, and likely prolonged inflation. 

But the war in cyberspace may get as fierce as its ever been.  No doubt attacks around the world, including in the US, have either been carried out directly by state actors, or not been discouraged by their host countries.  Russia has historically been a major offender.

 Harvard Business Review | The Cybersecurity Risks of an Escalating Russia-Ukraine Conflict

It was only five weeks ago that Russia's FSB arrested members of REvil for it's massive ransomware attacks that affected many sectors in the US.  Maybe it was a coincidence, but this happened the same day Ukraine was hit with widespread damage. 

Now as the conventional war heats up and the retaliatory sanctions get more crippling, the attacks are very likely to intensify.  While we can probably outmatch anyone with attack capabilities of our own, the asymmetrical aspects of a cyberwar work against America.

First, it's relatively easy to wage a cyberwar.  There is no shortage of hackers in Russia who would be more than happy to extract huge amounts of money from American organizations if not just maliciously cripple infrastructure, perhaps now at the urging of the Putin government. 

All they need to do is turn a blind eye and let the hackers keep all or a portion of the ransom collected.  This is not unlike the practice of privateering in the 18th century- state sanctioned piracy of your business’ data and ultimate life.

Second, we have more to lose.  Russia's economy is roughly the size of Texas, yet they can inflict terrible damage on our shores without ever stepping foot here.  And while we could devastate them as well, our businesses will be on the front lines of the assaults.

While a hard look at your cybersecurity strategy should be a regular practice and some damage may already be done, you have to start somewhere.  As an analogy, don't wait for a massive heart attack to diet and exercise- your business may not survive.